Following executing a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" actually means is unclear, but the commitment signifies an sudden shift in direction for the president, laden with inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now staking his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He vowed to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing funds for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We're not afraid of boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's future – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is quite prepared to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are notably different.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove hard for some of Trump's backers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending use of force and support of foreign wars is justified because we are forced to finance it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and resources that are central to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were blunter.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with zero American deaths and minimal harm to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American power and competency in American history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
